Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1887-12-01
RELIGIOUS READING
rhs Garment Of Praise.

THURSDAY, NOV. -, u tne Qay appoLn1cu "
the civil authority for public remembrance
OF the great eoodness Of the Lord 70 Us as in
dividuals and as q nation Thanksgiving
used to be appointed only by each State; but
now 1t is designated by national authority,
and will be uniformly observed throughout
the whole realm. This lends greater dignity
and consequence TO an occasion which pos
sesses intrinsic reasons enough for its general
and grateful observance.
We ought to be a thankful people. Has
God ever so dealt with any peoplei Look at
our magnificent domain; did ever nation be-
fore have such an inheritancel Look at our
vast privileges; was ever people more highly
favoredl Look at our great prosperity; did
ever a people before grow 50 rapidly and
greatly in all the advantages and blessings of
Providencel
Then, first and chiefest of all, there IL
Gods unspeakable gift, his dear Son. When
the prophet foresaw what God would do for
his people at the incarnation of his Son, he
said: ~ will appoint unto them that mourn
in Zion beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for
mourning, the garmfnt Of praise for the
spirit of heaviness.h Now that Christ has
come, has borne our sins in his own body on
the tree, has wrought out an everlasting
| Righteousness for us, what is it but unbelief
/, that prevents our putting on this garment Of
/ praisei Why should not the oil Of Joy in
I princely fullness run down the beard, even to
| the skirts of our garmentsl IL we NOPE in
/ the ashes of selfish sorrow or morbid intro
spection, what but unbelief and distrusJ
\ fathers It'll
A great many Christians are sickly and
pining for weLt Of this garment of praise
| Like spiritual hypochondriacS they are per-
| petually feeling the pulse, and shaking the
head, and lugubriously declaring in coven-
ant meetings that it Is all over with them;
they have no peace OF nina; and they do
not know whether they are Christians or not.
| Poverty-stricken soull think what Christ
has done, and get up and praise God Clothe
yourself with the garment of praise. Get up
out of the ashes, and put the christening oil
| upon your head. Stop feeling your pulse,
and counting its BEATS You will always be a
! spiritual hypochondriac while you do this
| Look at the Cross
One notable and noble characteristic of the
| Psalms is that the writer's are generally
] wrapped in this garment of praise. The
swelling joyousness is not so manifest in the
first Psalms; but they are cumulative in
this; ar the further you go through the
book, the more the holy enthusiasm kindles
and glows; until at last after calling on his
soul to bless the Lord, and all that is within
him to magnify his holy name, after calling
on everybody to help him praise God, and all
the nations to be glad to sing for joy, the
sacred Book of Praise ends In one gushing
call upon everything to praise the Lord
Trumpets, psalteries, harps, timbrels, dances
stringed instruments, organs, symbals, every
thing that hath breath, or into which joyful
God lovers can put breath, must join tt
praise the Lord.
We want more 3praise meetings" in oul
churches, more services of song" in which
in happy vesper-hours we can come together
with glad voices and instruments of music
and sing ourselves into the sweetness of thu
love and praise of God Let our churches
try the ''praise meetings, and come into joy
full sympathy with the blessed saints Of oh
who wrote: 30 come let US sing unto TIN
Lord; let us make joyful noise unto the
rock of our salvation" "Bless the Lord,
nv soul; and all that is within me, bless hi
holy name" 30 give thanks unto the Lord
for he is good; for his mercy endureth for
ever" ''Serve the Lord With gladness; com,
before his presence with singing; for tn
Lord is good, his mercy is everlasting" y!
is good thing to give thanks unto the s.ord
and to sing praises unto thy name, U Mos
High"
Let us wrap ourselves in the garments Of
such praise; and we shall come into blessed
and joyful sympathy with it.tRev. I. J
Millish.
To rejoice in anothers prosperity is to Civ
content to your own lott to omitigate another
grief is to alleviate or dispsl y2ur own IT
J EiWardS.
Il is the souls prerogative, its fate,
! To shape the outward to its own estate
If right itself, then all around is well;
} If wrong, it makes of all without, hell.
: Richard H. Dana.